You may already be aware that Wakefield’s current Children and Young People’s (CYP) District Plan is due to be refreshed and launched at the Build Our Futures Summit in May 2025. A core planning team for the 2025-2028 CYP Plan has commenced which consists of Avril Lee, Chloe Slater, Elaine Armstrong and Jonathan Giordano.

We are using this as an opportunity to align activities to support the review and development of all new strategies, aligned to the ambitions in the new CYP District Plan and broader district plans.

We are currently in our engagement period, which began in September and will continue until early January 2025. Engagement to date has involved meetings with:

• Children and Young People’s Partnership Board
• Service Directors and Managers within the Children and Young People’s Directorate
• Build our Futures Group
• Spectrum CIC
• Young Lives Consortium
• VCSE Lead (NOVA)
• Youth Justice voice and participation leads
• Libraries / Arts, Culture and Leisure
• Communications
• Children’s Public Health lead
• Voice and Participation Steering Group
• Schools Health Survey Workshop
• Children’s Alliance Group
• Young Carers lead
• SEND Managers

Plans are being put in place to meet with wider partners, children and young people’s groups, parents and carers and education settings. A survey will also be shared within the coming weeks – so please keep your eyes pealed and promote this with young people and families you work with!

If you would like any further information or to speak with the project team, please contact partnershipsgovernance@wakefield.gov.uk. Similarly, if you would like to get involved with the engagement, please get in touch!

WSCP have developed a range of resources, including a One Minute Guide (1MG), webpage and webinar, plus much more for sports clubs and activity providers to access, to ensure they have the correct safeguarding measures in place. 

Safeguarding in sport is vital and means ensuring every child and young person has a safe environment to learn and grow, where they feel safe and can make new friends and develop relationships. 

For more information on safeguarding in sport and to access the resources, please click here. 

We have also developed a page dedicated to parents and carers who might need to know what to look out for, or what they should be asking sports clubs in relation to safeguarding. To read more on this and access this page, please click here. 

As part of the WSCP Speak Up! Stand Up! Stop Exploitation! campaign, our virtual Learning Exchange event on the 26th September had Ivison Trust and West Yorkshire Police discuss the value and context of information and intelligence, how it drives intervention and investigation and introduced the Partnership Intelligence Portal (PiP) to those who work and volunteer with children and their families.

This event was recorded so those who were not able to attend on the day can still watch it. To access the recording please click here and then use the "drop down" box and select training

To receive the slides from this presentation please fill out the evaluation form here and then request the slides from wscpevents@wakefield.gov.uk

There is evidence both locally and nationally from audit activity and Serious Case Reviews which has found that often when working with children and families, there has been much emphasis placed on the mother's needs and that mothers are largely seen much more frequently by practitioners when working with a family. Analysis tells us that too often, there can be insufficient focus on the father of the children, the father's own needs and his role within the family.

 

As a reminder, guidance on engaging with fathers, male partners or carers was developed in September 2023 and is available to access, as part of a host of policies and procedures, on the West Yorkshire Consortium Inter Agency Safeguarding Child Protection Procedures website: Engaging with Fathers, Male Partners or Carers and Other Significant Adults

 

The guidance includes practical tips for effective engagement of fathers and other significant adults in practice, as well as West Yorkshire Case Reviews and the role of Mothers as Gatekeepers and any risks that may present.    

The Royal Life Saving Society UK (RLSS UK) have published an updated report into child drownings.

The new report highlights evidence from the National Child Mortality Database (NCMD) which shows that the number of child drowning deaths in England has doubled over the last four years.

In the past 4 years 125 children have drowned with 51 incidents occurring at home - primarily during bath time and involving children under 5. The report emphasises the importance of adult supervision, as 86% of the cases involved unsupervised children. To read the report please click here

In response to the report findings the RLSS have launched a brand-new fun and engaging water safety awareness campaign named "Splash Safety at Your Pad". The campaign offers free hints, tips and advice for families, to help parents and carers alike learn more about the risks posed by bath time and how to stay safe. Families can access the bath time safety resources by visiting www.rlss.org.uk/splash

 The key messages of the RLSS campaign is as follows: 

1) Always keep young children within arm’s reach in the bath. Always keep children under constant adult supervision in the bath. If you need to leave the bathroom, take the child with you. In a recent survey the RLSS found that 59% of parents of children under five admitted to leaving the child unattended in the bath at least once in the past month – and for most, this was down to them forgetting something, such as a towel.

2) Never leave your child under the supervision of child siblings in the bath. If you need to leave the bathroom, take the child with you. The RLSS found that 2 in 5 parents (41%) think it's safe to leave a baby in the bath with an older sibling, as long as it's not for too long.

3) Drowning can happen quickly and silently – in a matter of minutes. You won’t hear that something is wrong. Parents often don’t realise that drowning happens quickly and silently. In the RLSS survey, 55% of parents believe they would hear thrashing and a lot of noise if their child was struggling in the bath.

For information about water safety please visit the WSCP dedicated water safety webpage which has resources and information suitable for children of all ages.

Ofsted's Big Listen
Following the well-publicised death of head teacher Ruth Perry, Ofsted, between April and July 2024,  conducted a consultation exercise on how it was perceived, how it performed and what, if any, changes it should make. 20,000 responses to their consultation were received and in September they published what they had learned and what they intended to do in the future. The full results of this consultation are below and there are also a series of short videos which explain what is going to happen in each of Ofsted’s inspection areas. Namely, Early Years, Schools, Social Care and SEND Provision.

Message for School/College Prevent Lead
Schools in Wakefield fall under the North East DfE Prevent Education coordinator. 

Please ensure your schools Prevent lead is signed up to NE coordinator Christopher Sybenga's newsletter and that this information is fed into the wider team and staff group as appropriate. Sign up here; and choose NE. 

It is also advisable to have signed up to the local Wakefield Prevent newsletter. 

The WSCP website also has Prevent elearning available, please click here to take a look.

Reminder: DSL Forums & Network  Meetings Open to All!
All school/college DSL’s are reminded of the free half termly DSL forums open to all Education DSL’s in the district. It is strongly advised to have a rota of attendance between the DSL team, to keep up to date locally in between official training courses.  WSCP Online DSL Forums - Wakefield Safeguarding Children (wakefieldscp.org.uk) 

Also secondary and college DSL’s/ Independent school DSL’s please note dates for face-to-face DSL network meetings here:

There is just over one week left to go until Anti-Bullying Week 2024, which is taking place from Monday 11th to Friday 15th November, with the theme: ‘Choose Respect’.

To help you get involved with the week and show your support the Anti-Bullying Alliance have created everything you need – entirely free of charge – to help you get ready to choose respect in your school/setting. Please click on the links below to access the different resources that are available.

Schools Packs:
Resources for primary and secondary schools which include lesson plans, films, cross-curricular ideas, and assembly plans. These school packs are focused on developing children’s understanding of respect, including how to disagree respectfully.

Odd Socks Day is taking place on Tuesday 12th November. There is a school pack with an assembly plan ready to go – alongside an amazing song and video from Andy and the Odd Socks currently in the making!

Are you looking to take on a new and exciting challenge in your fostering career? Wakefield Council are looking for experienced foster carers to become part of their ground breaking new Fostering Hub Home.

Wakefield Council believe this Fostering Hub Home will be the first of it's kind in the UK, an adapted version of the Mockingbird model. The Hub Home will offer a unique development opportunity for foster carers. And it has the potential to make an impact nationwide.

• Address the current placement shortage
• Reduce the number of children needing long-term residential care
• Ease transitions through high quality care and improved matching.

The offer to the hub home carers includes:

• An enhanced and role specific support and training package
• A six-week induction alongside residential staff
• Respite care available to carers via the hub home
• Highly competitive financial package alongside a 70% reduction in council tax

To find out more please click here to download a handy Foster Hub Home One Minute Guide. Please could services such as VCSE and Health Settings display this guide in your public areas.

For further information please visit www.wakefield.gov.uk/fostering

Please note that the advanced face to face training is now on hold and unavailable to book onto. You can still access the Basic Awareness training here.  We will update you as soon as we can and apologies for any inconvenience this may cause.

This session aims to provide employers and mangers with an introduction to the systems and procedures that are in place for responding to allegations made against people who work with children. This course is delivered by the Wakefield Council Local Authority Designated Officer (LADO) and the WSCP Safeguarding Advisor for Education Vicki Maybin. If you are interested in this training please email wscpevents@wakefield.gov.uk

The Ready to Relate cards, developed by Bradford District Community NHS Trust, are a visual, interactive tool to help all practitioners assess, discuss and share healthcare information with families and to make National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) recommended interventions accessible.

The cards aim to improve and enhance the parent‐infant relationship and promote infant attachment and optimal infant development.

These sessions take place face-to-face and are suitable and available for all practitioners. Please note services are limited to 5 places per booking.

- Wednesday 18th December, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 22nd January 2025, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 19th February 2025, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 19th March 2025, 09:00am to 4pm
- Wednesday 23rd April 2025, 09:00am to 4pm 
- Wednesday 21st May 2025, 09:00am to 4pm
-  Wednesday 18th June 2025, 09:00am to 4pm

To find out more about the above course and to book a place please click here

CAMHS are delivering training on the following subjects, with dates available throughout the year:

- An Introduction to Child and Adolescent Mental Health

- Understanding and Working with Anxiety in Children and Young People

- An Introduction to Depression and Low Mood in Children and Young People

- Supporting Children and Young People who have experienced Bereavement or Loss

- The Impact of Sleep on Emotional Wellbeing

- An Introduction to Attachment in Children and Young People

- An introduction to Self Harm

- An Introduction to Suicide and Awareness and Prevention
- Full Day Sleep Workshop for Professionals working with Children, Young People & Families  

These sessions will be hosted on Microsoft Teams. For further information including dates and times, and to download a booking form please click here

Ygam’s mission is to ensure that every young person is resilient to, and safeguarded against, gaming and gambling harms. They do this through awareness raising, education and research.

This training equips you with the knowledge and confidence to deliver the programme directly to young people. The workshops are 100% fully funded and on completion all trained staff will gain access to resources to use with the young people you support and City and Guilds certification.

The training is aimed at a range of youth-facing professionals, including teachers, youth workers, practitioners, universities, faith leaders and health professionals.

Please click here for more information

Available course dates and times:
These are virtual workshops with various dates available. Please click on the link above for more details.

Another Every Sleep a Safe Sleep multi agency training session is now scheduled. This training takes place on Tuesday 4th February 2025, 13:00-16:00 via Microsoft Teams. Please see below for course information and the joining link for the training. Bookings are not required for this session.

Outline:
The sudden and unexpected death of an infant (SUDI) is one of the most devastating tragedies that can happen to any family. At least 300 infants still die suddenly and unexpectedly each year in England and Wales. West Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership has seen a sharp increase in the number of infants who have died because of unsafe sleep practices over recent years. As part of the Local Maternity System public health recommendations, it was also recognised that much can be done before, during and after pregnancy to support women and their babies.

In 2020, the national Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel published ‘Out of Routine’ a Thematic Report into SUDI. This report identified these deaths occur more frequently in families where there are certain vulnerabilities. In response, this training has been developed to support frontline workers to engage parents with safer sleeping advice.

Audience:
Multidisciplinary for all agencies who work with parents and carers of babies aged 0-12 months including pre-birth.

Joining Information:
Tuesday 4th February 2025, 13:00 – 16:00 via MS Teams (3 hours)
Click here to join the event! (Save this link in your diary, so you have it on the day)

If you have any questions or queries please contact Janet Wilson at janetwilson@wakefield.gov.uk

‘Dumb’ phones are increasingly popular among families hoping to disconnect from the internet on the go. Learn about the features and limitations of smartphones and dumb phones to help you make a choice that feels right for your family. To find out more click here

Did you know Wakefield Council have nine Family Hubs across the Wakefield District.

Families can pop-in at any time to access support, information and  take part in a variety of activities and groups. 

Family Hubs are for everyone - parents, carers, and families with babies and children of all ages, needs and abilities.  

The Family Hubs offer early help, support and activities for the whole family – from group work, to 1-1 sessions with our partners or groups for children in a mix of age categories. 

If you're not sure what to expect from the Family Hubs, take a look at their video at: Family Hubs - Wakefield Families Together

There are also 3 Youth Hubs across the District. Youth Hubs are friendly and accessible places that provide support to 11-24 year olds around:-    

Why not pop in to your local Family or Youth Hub and pick up a copy of their What’s On Guides, or speak to their friendly and knowledgeable members of staff who are here to support you and your family! 

For more information visit www.wakefieldfamiliestogether.co.uk 

Bonfire Night and Diwali are both quickly approaching. If you are planning to have your own display at home, visit the Child Accident Prevent Trust's (CAPT) firework safety hub for top tips on buying the right fireworks for your garden and ways to keep your family safe.

Remember to always follow the Firework Code

CAPT have also published the following safety advice which may be of use to families planning on holding their own fireworks display or attending a public event:

The Lullaby Trust have developed several resources which professionals can share with families to help them feel confident in spotting the signs of infection and know when to take action to keep their baby safe.

The Lullaby Trust are recommending that parents/carers should avoid travelling in cars with pre-term and young babies for long distances. Research into the link between car seats and SIDS found young babies may be at risk of breathing difficulties if they sleep in a seated position for too long.

If your trip involves driving for long periods of time, you should stop for frequent breaks. This will allow you to check on your baby, take them out of the car seat and let them stretch and move around.

Ideally, a second adult should travel in the back of the car with your baby, or if travelling alone use a mirror to keep an eye on your baby. If your baby changes their position and slumps forward, then you should immediately stop, take them out of the car seat and sit them upright before continuing on your journey.

It is essential for safety that babies travel in a rearward-facing baby seats. Rearward-facing seats provide greater protection for the baby’s head, neck and spine than forward-facing seats.

To find out more, including to download a "car seat fact sheet" please click here.

Calling all professionals: Please share this information with any families that you work with who have babies.

The NSPCC have recently released the following updates which may be of interest to professionals working with children and families, and to share with parents/carers where applicable.

Case Reviews
Eight new case reviews have been added to the collection this month featuring issues including youth violence, adolescent psychiatry, assessments and contextual safeguarding. Click here to take a look.

Infant Mortality
The Guardian has published a news story summarising findings from recent research on infant mortality in England published in the Lancet Regional Health Europe journal. The study found that infants living in the most deprived areas were at greater risk of mortality than those in the least deprived areas during the study period, and it identified four factors – preterm birth, smoking during pregnancy, teenage pregnancy and maternal depression – which collectively accounted for more than one-third of the socioeconomic inequality in mortality. The Guardian news story suggests that targeted interventions addressing these factors could help to reduce inequalities although higher-level structural changes are also required.

Read the Guardian new story: Targeted support could reduce infant mortality gap across England, study finds
Read the research: Maternal and pregnancy factors contributing to the association between area deprivation and infant mortality in England: a retrospective cohort study

Financial Pressures
NSPCC Learning has published a Helplines insight briefing on the impact of financial pressures on young people. Financial pressures are caused by any situation where there is difficulty or uncertainty in meeting financial commitments due to a shortage of money. Drawing from contacts to Childline and the NSPCC Helpline in 2023/24, the briefing explores: how material hardship affects young people’s mental health and wellbeing; the impact of housing instability and sharing crowded spaces on young people’s sense of privacy and security; challenges to independence; and how financial pressures can impact family dynamics, as well as young people’s hopes and fears for the future.

Read the briefing: The impact of financial pressures on young people

Safeguarding Allegations
The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has created a safeguarding tool for charities on handling allegations of abuse. The tool aims to support charities in England with handling the reporting of safeguarding allegations about the behaviour or actions of a person in their charity.

Access the tool: Guidance on handling safeguarding allegations in a charity
See also on NSPCC learning: How to deal with allegations of abuse

Domestic Abuse
NSPCC Learning has published a podcast episode on the effects of domestic abuse on children, young people and babies. The episode features representatives from Childline and the NSPCC Helpline discussing: what children are telling Childline about domestic abuse and how this differs from what adults are telling the Helpline; the ways in which the effects of domestic abuse may present through a child’s behaviour; the importance of listening to the voice of the child; and safeguarding actions for professionals who identify domestic abuse.

Listen to the podcast: How domestic abuse affects children
Watch on You Tube: How domestic abuse affects children
See also on NSPCC learning: Protecting children from domestic abuse